After declining during Thanksgiving week, mortgage application volume was back up in the week ending November 30, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed a 4.5 percent increase in total volume on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week. This was driven by a 6 percent bump in the Refinance Index. The Purchase Index inched up slightly compared to last week with a 0.1 percent increase.
With more refinances, the refi share of total applications jumped from 81 to 83 percent, while the HARP share was up slightly to 27 percent. Meanwhile, the adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity declined to 3 percent of total applications.
Coupled with the longer week, mortgage rates remaining near record lows may have had an impact on the higher volume of mortgage applications.
According to Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 15- and 30-year fixed-mortgage rates edged up slightly above all-time lows in the week ending November 29. Fifteen-year FRMs went from 2.63 to 2.64 percent, while 30-year FRMs increased to 3.32 percent.
